FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 5 | Page 76

£ Bereman cranks a
huge whip at Fitzland

As a second-generation rider to
his dad, Tyler Bereman received
his first bike, a Yamaha PW 50, at
the young age of four years old.
Although he was only riding from
time to time, the wheels were
already in motion and the course
of his life on two wheels had
already been set.
“I rode for a few years on and
off, never really for anything
more than having fun. I did a few
flat track races here and there,”
Bereman says. “And when I was
ten years old, a friend of ours
took us to a local motocross track
and from there I was so excited
about riding, I just loved jumping.
I grew up watching all the Crusty
Demons videos and the OGs. All
I wanted to do was jump and get
air, I just loved that feeling.”

A freerider at heart, Bereman
knew his true calling was to be
a free driven two-wheeled spirit,
and since there was no way
to officially make a living from
just flying high in the clouds, he
found himself staring down the
30 second board and collecting
amateur championship chequered
flags.
“I started racing around 2003 I
believe. I was a kid in high school
but decided to buckle down and
get serious about my racing.”
says Bereman. “When I was
about 18 years old, I decided that
this was something I could go
somewhere with, I saw what I had
on the bike.”
Knowing that every amateur
rider’s path leads to the same
five major amateur nationals in
the hope of attracting the factory
teams and graduating to the
major leagues of AMA Supercross
and Motocross, Bereman’s young
career was in full effect and the
predictions were looking good.
“I won my first two Amateur
National Championships in 2009
at Ponca City, OK and Lake
Whitney, TX and took home a
title at Loretta Lynn’s in 2010,”
says Bereman. “At the beginning
of 2011 I turned amateur pro or
‘A class’. I went to the first few
amateur nationals of the year and
rode in the A class. I won a couple
of championships at Freestone,
TX but then at the second one
in Oak Hill, TX, I tangled with
another rider and broke my hand.
Healing up from that I qualified
for all the classes I wanted to at
Loretta’s, got there, had good
lap times in my practice and in
the first turn tangled with another
rider and I broke my tailbone.” u

© JOHN SANDERS

B

ORN AND RAISED ON
California’s Central
Coast, in a town
called Templeton, Tyler
Bereman has had a
passion for two wheels,
for as long as he can remember.
Starting out riding flat track,
desert trails and the badlands
of his local area, his roots were
deep-seated in dirt bikes. It didn’t
matter if it was behind a starting
gate and through a chequered
flag or strapped with a backpack
and shovel with freeride terrain in
his sights. The road has not been
easy for him though. Bereman’s
had a handful of devastating
injuries that have set him back,
but as he continues to push on,
managing a stellar amateur career
with the sort of mentors and
support every rider dreams of,
he’s definitely had his fair share of
ups and downs. Today, the young
Californian continues to hold his
head high and his throttle wide
open.